


happy, happy birthday, bucky

by jophieso



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Birthday, Boys In Love, Bucky Barnes birthday, Developing Relationship, First Anniversary, First Dates, First Kiss, Flashbacks, Fluff, Getting Together, Gross Horny Boys, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-11
Updated: 2019-03-11
Packaged: 2019-11-15 11:55:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18072959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jophieso/pseuds/jophieso
Summary: This fic is like, parallel writing?A relationship develops a lot over the course of the year. Lucky for us, we get to see some of those changes from first date to first anniversary as Tony and Bucky celebrate Bucky's birthday together.





	happy, happy birthday, bucky

**Author's Note:**

> i know this is a lil late, oh well! not beta'd, all mistakes are my own.

**One Year Ago**  


_Bucky’s eyes slid open slowly. He’d been awoken by noise surrounding him, but he couldn’t place exactly what it was. Some shuffling of flimsy objects, sounds of paper crinkling, and hushed, urgent whispers. The former assassin had grown comfortable enough at the tower to awake groggy, sitting up and lazily rubbing the sleep from his eyes.  
_

_What he did not expect to see when he opened them, was the majority of his team sat at the foot of his bed. They all wore silly party hats and had those cheesy party-blowers in their mouths. Before his mind was even able to process today’s date, he was surrounded by the shrieking of cheap party horns.  
_

_And of course, the awful party horns were followed by a terribly out of tune, out of key, rendition of “Happy Birthday”. Ah, yes, that’s what today was. Bucky’s birthday.  
His 101st birthday, to be exact. _

**Today**  


Bucky didn’t want to disrupt his magnificent sleepy haze, but he could tell he was quite awake by now. Tony had been peppering kisses along his neck and his shoulders, over and over, seemingly content on keeping this up until Bucky acknowledged it. Though, Bucky figured that letting Tony think he was barely awake so he could get more kisses wasn’t the worst thing he’d ever done.  


“I know you’re awake, babe, jus’ a matter of you admitting it or not.” Tony murmured against Bucky’s skin.  


Oops. There goes that plan.  


“Mmm, what if I pretend ‘m not and you can keep doin’ what you’re doin’.”  


The soft exhale of laughter Tony let out in response was the kind of thing that fueled Bucky’s kindest, happiest dreams. Of course nowadays, Tony was always the one fueling his good dreams.  


“I think I’m pretty good at what I do when you’re awake, but I guess if you’d rather I can continue with all this chaste, innocent contact.” Tony’s tone was both teasing and seductive, and his words immediately woke Bucky up the rest of the way. Within a moment, he’d positioned himself above Tony, weight resting on his forearm while he carded a metal hand through Tony’s hair.  


“Hi.” Tony breathed.  


“Hi.” Bucky exhaled, breath barely more than a whisper.  


“Happy, happy birthday, baby.” Tony sung the tune lightly, one familiar to himself and one Bucky would look up later. For now, he had other things to be doing. Another person to be doing.  


“Just glad I get to spend it with you, darling,” Bucky cooed before slotting his and Tony’s mouths together in a sweet kiss.  


**One Year Ago**  


_Bucky felt rather vulnerable at the moment, though maybe that was just the Winter Soldier talking. He was surrounded by a large volume of people in his own room, in just his sleep clothes. Yet oddly enough, when Tony took his turn and approached Bucky with a small red bag, he could feel the tenseness oozing away.  
_

_Weird.  
_

_“My gift is small but um, I hope you like it.” Tony shyly handed the bag over to Bucky, all of the signature sass and confidence suddenly gone. His patented smirk was replaced by a shy smile and fidgeting hands.  
_

_Bucky found it adorable.  
_

_Wait, since when had he found Tony adorable?  
_

_“You gonna open the present, Barnes, or just stare at it?” Clint was perched atop a bookcase, looking particularly bored by the scene in front of him.  
_

_Bucky removed the yellow tissue paper, a detail that did not go unnoticed as it complimented the red bag, and pulled out what looked to be a gift card, and a pair of small, novelty action figures.  
_

_Captain America and Bucky Barnes action figures, to be more specific.  
_

_“Tony, these are so cute! I didn’t even know they made these. Where’d you get them?” Bucky knew he sounded like an over enthusiastic child, but he didn’t mind in this particular moment.  
_

_“Well, the merchandise team came up with them and asked me to get approval from you and Cap, and I figured this was an efficient way to do it. What do you think?” Tony sounded nervous, something Bucky didn’t think he’d ever see from the man.  
_

_“I love them Tony, they’re fantastic, thank you.” He sent a soft smile in Tony’s direction before picking up the gift card and looking at it. He’d been slightly mistaken before, it was a gift certificate to a fancier restaurant he’d been wanting to try for a while.  
_

_“You got me a gift certificate to Cibo’s? I’ve been wanting to eat there for the longest time! How’d you know?”  
_

_Tony shrugged, glancing down at his feet shuffling around a bit. “Well, you’d mentioned it once, and when I was trying to find you a good gift I remembered that you wanted to eat there. I know the owner and now you’ve got one free meal. On the house.” He finished his sentence by sending Bucky yet another shy smile, though this one had something hidden behind it.  
_

_“This is great, Iron Man. Do you, uh, maybe wanna go with me tonight? I’ve got nothing else planned.” Bucky stumbled over his words in an attempt to keep his invitation as casual as possible.  
_

_“Oh, you don’t have to use it with me. You can take whoever and-” Tony was rambling, Bucky cut him off.  
_

_“I wanna go with you, Tony. Do you wanna go?”  
_

_“Um, yeah, yes, I mean, sure, that’d be cool, fun, yeah.”  
_

_Bucky was glad he wasn’t the only one here tripping over his own tongue.  
_

_“How does meeting in the lobby at six sound?” Bucky was frightened by how quickly his heart was beating against his chest.  
“It’s a date.”_

**Today**  


“Tony, doll, the light of my life, my sun and moon and stars, please come back to bed so we can celebrate _properly._ ” Bucky whined, making grabby hands at Tony as he emerged from their shared closet, a small bag in hand.  


“Calm down, you animal. Material gifts first, sexy gifts second.” Tony quipped as he sat cross-legged next to Bucky on the bed. The genius pecked Bucky’s cheek and handed him the bag, yet another red and gold combo. Though this year, the bag was gold and the tissue paper was red.  


Bucky rolled his eyes but went about removing the tissue paper from the bag, to reveal a plain black box. It looked to be one of those ones necklaces were kept in. Bucky quirked a curious brow at Tony, but the genius just shrugged, gesturing to the box in a move that told him to just keep opening it. He lifted the lid from the box and gasped after a moment of scanning the item.  


“Tony, are these…?” Bucky ran a thumb over the familiar tags, all too pristine for their age. He knew the tags couldn’t be real, all of his belongings had been lost in the fall, obviously. Whatever he’d had on him was trashed by HYDRA when they kidnapped him.  


Tony’s smile had gone from snarky to small and shy, but just as beautiful.  


“I uh, they still had the records lying around. All the information. So I just had them make a replica of what your tags would’ve looked like.” Bucky could tell Tony had more to say, something heavier, so he waited to respond.  


“I know you struggle a lot with your past with HYDRA and I think sometimes you forget that you were an amazing soldier during the war.” Tony paused. “You were an extremely talented sniper, and I just hope this will help you remember that your past is more than those greasy sleazeballs.”  


Bucky smiled sappily at his boyfriend and blinked the tears from his eyes before tackling the man in a hug. Tony instinctively wrapped his arms around Bucky’s neck. The two stayed like that for a minute or two, relishing in each other’s warmth.  


Tony was surprised when Bucky pulled back just enough to look at Tony, and then put the dog tags on him.  


“What’cha doin’, Bucky-Bear? Last I checked, I didn’t get my Tetanus immunization in the 40s, nor is my name James Barnes B.” Tony quipped, his signature snarky smile returning.  


Bucky smirked devilishly. “Call me possessive or old-fashioned, but I never did get the chance to see a fella laid out beneath me with my tags on during the war. Figured we could remedy that right now, yeah?” By the end of his sentence, Bucky’s voice was a nothing but a seductive purr.  


“I’m all yours, soldier.” Tony agreed in a hushed, breathless tone.

**One Year Ago**  


_Bucky paced nervously in the lobby, enough that the young receptionist had made a joke or two about him wearing out the floors. He was nice to her, though no amount of joking or laughter could calm Bucky’s nerves.  
_

_He was going on a date with Tony Stark.  
_

_Was it a date? Maybe Tony thought they were just going as friends. Oh God, what if Bucky made it awkward and Tony didn’t even want to be his friend anymore? What if he made some sort of move and made Tony uncomfortable and-  
_

_“You planning on making a dent in my carpet with all your pacing, Terminator?”  
_

_Bucky looked up and felt the air leave his lungs. Tony was stunning, his classic smirk in place alongside neatly trimmed facial hair and a charcoal colored suit that made Bucky’s mouth water.  
_

_“Just burning some calories for all the pasta we’re gonna be eating tonight, doll.”  
_

_Bucky was shocked at how confident he sounded, and how easily the endearment had rolled off of his tongue. He was equally shocked to see Tony Stark blushing like a lovesick teenager.  
_

_The genius recovered quickly however, grinning widely and straightening his posture. “Well, then we’d better get going, yeah?”  
_

_Bucky agreed and the two headed out front where Happy was waiting in the car for them. They sat in the back and made small talk on the way to the restaurant. It wasn’t very far away, but New York traffic lengthened every drive.  
_

_“So, Buckaroo, do anything else fun for the big One-Oh-One?”  
_

_Bucky really didn’t do anything fun, unless people considered stressing over a Not Date for hours as fun. Of course, he couldn’t just tell Tony that he’d spent an embarrassing amount of time getting his man bun perfect. He also didn’t feel like mentioning how long Steve and Natasha had spent encouraging Bucky before he left.  
_

_“Stevie and I looked through some photo albums that were salvaged from our old apartment, but I didn’t do much outside of that.”  
_

_Tony hummed in acknowledgement, inquiring about some of the less sensitive topics from Bucky’s past. Good food, small Steve, his sisters, those kinds of things. The two of them got so into their conversations that their arrival to the restaurant came as a surprise.  
_

_“Guess we just got distracted, right, Buck?” Tony snarked, ignoring the roll of Happy’s eyes.  
_

_The two brunettes entered the establishment and were quickly shown to a private table, adorned with delicate fairy lights and gorgeous plants. Before Tony could sit, Bucky pulled out his chair for him and the genius grinned.  
_

_“My, what a gentleman you are, Sergeant Barnes. No wonder the ladies were swooning over you in the 40s.” Tony attempted to hide his blush with humor, though it didn’t escape Bucky’s notice.  
_

_The two of them fumbled through awkward dinner conversation, weaving between easy discussions and frustrating small talk. By the end of the night, however, both of them had had their fill of superb Italian food. They were happy and giggly, finally giving into the giddiness they felt around each other.  
_

_Tony didn’t hide his cuddliness on the way back to the tower, and Bucky didn’t bother to hide how much he appreciated it. He draped his arm around Tony’s shoulders, and Tony burrowed into his side happily. He could confidently admit now that this had been a date. And a damn good one, at that.  
_

_The two arrived back at the tower and untangled themselves, heading straight into the elevator and to Tony’s floor, as Bucky had insisted on seeing him “home” safely, as he’d do with anyone else.  
_

_Not that he wanted to do it with anyone else.  
_

_The elevator dinged to announce their arrival and Tony smiled briefly, hesitantly, before speaking. “I had a really fun time tonight, Bucky.” Tony’s voice was quiet, but he wasn’t sad at all. He fidgeted with his hands and shifted his weight from foot to foot.  
_

_Bucky smiled, his heart thundering against his chest once again.  
_

_“I did too, Tony. I really enjoyed going out with you tonight.”  
_

_Before Bucky could stop himself, he’d stepped into Tony’s personal space, arms wrapping around the smaller man’s middle. “May I?” He asked, voice so quiet Tony could barely hear it himself.  
_

_“Yeah,” Tony said, more of a breath than a word, and then Bucky was kissing him. It was chaste and sweet and not too much for a first date, but it left both of them yearning for more.  
_

_Reluctantly, they both pulled away, somehow not pouring every bit of pining they’d done into that one kiss. They stayed close, though, both attempting to calm rapid hearts.  
_

_“I’d love to go out again, Tony.” Bucky was back with his charismatic voice, he had Tony almost melting in his arms.  
_

_“I’m counting on it, Tasty Freeze.” Tony bantered.  
_

_With that, Bucky gave Tony one last kiss and pushed him lightly towards his penthouse, a mischievous grin gracing his face.  
_

_“Have a good night, Tony.”_

**Today**  


Bucky and Tony had sat all too close throughout dinner, hands wandering when they weren’t occupied with breadsticks and pastas and other Italian cuisines. Lucky for them, they’d been in a more private area again, and they left just as happy and full as they had the year prior.  


This year, however, Tony was not the only one sporting a suit tailored to the gods. Bucky was wearing an almost entirely black number with a red and gold striped tie, because of course he owned everything Iron Man. Tony could barely keep his hands off of him all night, but he resisted the urge to tear the suit off.  


When they got in the car however, things were a lot less “PG” than they had been this time last year. Happy was rather disgruntled when he’d opened the car door to find Tony straddling Bucky’s lap, both of them going to town on each other’s mouths.  


“Very professional, you guys. Very adult. Get out of my limo.”  


Tony laughed and handed Happy an extra $50 as he led Bucky out of the limo, hand in hand. They made it to the elevator as quickly as possible, and slumped against each other when they got in.  


“Tonight was a lot of fun, babe, just like last year.” Tony murmured, moving himself so he could loop his arms around Bucky’s neck once again.”  


“I agree, darling. I’m always my happiest with you.” Bucky wrapped his arms around Tony’s middle, gathering the small man up close to his chest. They stayed like that for a few seconds until Bucky shifted, suddenly fishing in his pocket for something.  


“I almost forgot. It might be my birthday, but it’s also our first anniversary. I got you something.” Bucky handed Tony a box similar to the one he’d received earlier. It was long and slim, fit for holding a necklace.  


Tony sent Bucky an exasperated look and opened the box, removing the contents and analyzing them carefully.  


It was a locket, plain and simple. It was gold, but it was all around fairly simple. Not too flashy, not something that would spark much interest with the press. Tony opened the locket and melted over the photo inside.  


It was small, but it was some paparazzi shot of Tony and Bucky stumbling out of the same Italian restaurant last year, clinging to each other happily. Bucky’s birthday, their first date, their anniversary. All in one picture.  


“Our first date. I love this.” Tony murmured, running his thumb over the picture and the locket.  


Bucky grinned happily as the elevator doors slid open to the penthouse floor. The two of them exited the elevator and Tony pocketed the locket, wrapping his arms around Bucky again.  


“I love it, baby, thank you. So much. I love you.”  


Tony’s words grew increasingly muffled as he neared Bucky’s mouths, eventually closing the distance entirely and standing on his tiptoes to deepen the kiss. The “happy birthday” murmured somewhere in there was buried by the kiss, until they both had to pull away for air.  


“Happy birthday, old man.”  


Bucky rolled his eyes. “We’ll see who you’re calling old man,” Bucky’s grasp around Tony’s middle tightened, “after we conclude the birthday and anniversary celebration.”  


Tony laughed loudly and let Bucky scoop him up off the floor, and into their bedroom, while humming under his breath.  


_Happy, happy birthday, Bucky._

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! i'm a lil rusty but a comment and some kudos make my day <3


End file.
